Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Rhododendron simsii xe2x80x98Miss Luluxe2x80x99.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron simsii, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Miss Luluxe2x80x99.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Sassenburg, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new strong Azalea cultivars with excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Azalea originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventors in January, 1993, in a controlled environment in Sassenburg, Germany, of the Rhododendron simsii cultivar St. Valentine, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified selection of Rhododendron simsii, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Sassenburg, Germany.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Sassenburg, Germany since May, 1996, has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Azalea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and/or light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Miss Luluxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Miss Luluxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Glossy and very dark green-colored leaves.
3. Freely branching habit.
4. Pink-colored double flowers.
5. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar St. Valentine, plants of the new Azalea have better foliage longevity and flower for a longer period of time. Plants of the new Azalea differ from plants of the male parent primarily in flower color.
Plants of the new Azalea can be compared to the plants of the cultivar Theo, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,523. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Sassenburg, Germany, plants of the new Azalea differed from plants of the cultivar Theo in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Azalea were more compact and not as open in growth habit as plants of the cultivar Theo.
2. Plants of the new Azalea had more elongated flower buds than plants of the cultivar Theo.
3. Flowers of plants of the new Azalea were double in form whereas flowers of plants of the cultivar Theo were semi-double in form.